Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wary of Ferrari, McLaren but hopes for win in Imola
May 17, 2024
Imola [Italy], May 17 : Max Verstappen is wary of the challenge Red Bull could face from McLaren and Ferrari in Imola this weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix following Lando Norris' Miami victory and said his team need to "get things 100 per cent right" in Imola.
The Dutchman, who is vying for a fourth consecutive drivers' championship, lost to Lando Norris in Miami two weeks ago, his second defeat in six races this season. Norris was victorious in Formula 1 thanks to his upgraded McLaren.
When Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished one-two at the Australian Grand Prix in March, Ferrari was the other team to deny Red Bull a win this season. The Italian team will bring their first major upgrade package of the year to the first European race of the campaign.
"It's not responding. These things are already planned out. It's not like one team comes with upgrades and we are like, 'oh, we need to put something together'. It's already in the pipeline," Verstappen said as quoted by Sky Sports.
"We are happy with it but naturally, you need to keep on pushing because the teams behind are catching up. As we saw in Miami, when we don't get things 100 per cent right, they are ahead. We have to try to make sure we don't have too many of those weekends," he added.
Red Bull won all but one of the 22 races in the previous season, and Ferrari were poised to close the gap on the defending constructors' champions and launch a successful 2024 campaign. However, McLaren's extensive overhaul in Miami has created the intriguing possibility of three-way race wins.
"Ferrari have got a big upgrade. It's difficult to know where we are going to be," Verstappen added.
"McLaren have a really big upgrade and we will only find out here how good that upgrade is going to be because it always takes a bit of time to get on top of things. It's about little details that can make a big difference to lap times sometimes, especially on a track like Miami which is sensitive," said the Red Bull driver.
